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Archive for the ‘nuclear weapons’ category: Page 4

Nov 10, 2020

Kosta Tsipis, MIT physicist and prominent voice for nuclear disarmament, dies at 86

Posted by in categories: existential risks, military, nuclear weapons, physics, treaties

In arguing against nuclear war, Dr. Tsipis said he came « to believe that reason must prevail. »


A curious boy who gazed at the stars from his mountainside Greek village and wondered how the universe came to be, Kosta Tsipis was only 11 when news arrived that the first atomic weapon had been dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

“After the bomb went off, I sent away for a book because I wanted to understand it,” he told the Globe in 1987.

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Nov 1, 2020

UN treaty banning nuclear weapons set to enter into force in January

Posted by in categories: geopolitics, military, nuclear weapons, treaties

In what leading campaigners are describing as “a new chapter for nuclear disarmament”, the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will now come into force on 22 January, after Honduras became the 50th Member State to ratify on Saturday.

Jul 4, 2020

The World’s Smallest Nuke- Detonation Clip

Posted by in categories: military, nuclear weapons

Many say that the Cold War didn’t accomplish anything but it did heat up the world of weapon development. The United States and Communist Russia went head to head in the race to develop the most powerful nuclear weapon. However, sometimes the most powerful weapon is not the most efficient one, so the United States took a different approach.

The result was the development of a small, powerful, portable nuclear warhead, the W54. The small nuke earned the nickname “Davey Crockett” was intended for by ground troops and operated via rocket launcher.

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Jun 13, 2020

Are AI-Powered Killer Robots Inevitable?

Posted by in categories: drones, military, nuclear weapons, robotics/AI, singularity

Autonomous weapons present some unique challenges to regulation. They can’t be observed and quantified in quite the same way as, say, a 1.5-megaton nuclear warhead. Just what constitutes autonomy, and how much of it should be allowed? How do you distinguish an adversary’s remotely piloted drone from one equipped with Terminator software? Unless security analysts can find satisfactory answers to these questions and China, Russia, and the US can decide on mutually agreeable limits, the march of automation will continue. And whichever way the major powers lead, the rest of the world will inevitably follow.


Military scholars warn of a “battlefield singularity,” a point at which humans can no longer keep up with the pace of conflict.

Jun 9, 2020

Russia will open nuclear disarmament talks with US

Posted by in categories: nuclear weapons, treaties

But Moscow warns against insisting on including China in New Start negotiations.

May 29, 2020

This Atomic Tank survived a nuclear test, then went to war

Posted by in categories: military, nuclear weapons

In August of 1953, a British-built Centurion tank drove through the brutal desert terrain of South Australia, its destination a parking spot a few hundred yards from an atomic bomb test. That was just the beginning of this tank’s amazing, and perhaps tragic, operational life.

Apr 22, 2020

Quantum Communication Could Make U.S. Subs Even More Deadly

Posted by in categories: nuclear weapons, quantum physics

University researchers have discovered that quantum communications are possible with submerged objects in turbulent water. The revelation means it might someday be possible for the National Command Authority to use quantum communications to securely communicate with underwater submarines, particularly those that make up part of the nuclear triad.

Apr 15, 2020

Possible Chinese Nuclear Testing Stirs U.S. Concern

Posted by in categories: energy, nuclear weapons

China might be secretly conducting nuclear tests with very low explosive power despite Beijing’s assertions that it is strictly adhering to an international accord banning all nuclear tests, according to a new arms-control report to be made public by the State Department.

The coming report doesn’t present proof that China is violating its promise to uphold the agreement, but it cites an array of activities that “raise concerns” that Beijing might not be complying with the “zero-yield” nuclear-weapons testing ban.

Apr 15, 2020

The Coronavirus Can’t Stop America’s Nukes

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, business, military, nuclear weapons

As the world fights against the COVID-19 pandemic, nuclear weapons have taken a backseat in most people’s minds. But for Global Strike Command (AFGSC)—the Air Force unit in control of two of the three legs of America’s nuclear triad—their mission remains top priority.

And it’s an unforgiving business. Nuclear deterrence requires extreme levels of readiness among pilots, maintenance crews, and security teams. Adversaries that don’t think the U.S. can respond with conventional bombing strikes or nukes could be emboldened to act aggressively.

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Mar 15, 2020

2017 North Korean nuclear test

Posted by in categories: existential risks, military, nuclear weapons

North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test on 3 September 2017, stating it had tested a thermonuclear weapon (hydrogen bomb).[6].

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